Greendale

Neil Young's glorified home movie is intended to showcase both his singing-songwriting talents and his abilities as a cinematic artiste, but fails dismally on both counts. The problem isn't merely that as screenwriter, cameraman, and director (the latter under the apropos pseudonym Bernard Shakey), Young shows no perceptible skill; it's that--in the famous words of Samuel Goldwyn--he wants to “send a message” (using a movie instead of Western Union) about the disintegration of the American family, the abuse of governmental power, the escalation of violence in contemporary society, the baleful influence of the news media, and, most importantly to the singer, the destruction of the environment. Young's vocal mannequins (the actors mouth the words of 10 long songs sung and performed by Young and his band Crazy Horse) are three generations in the unsubtly named Green family of the titular Northern California town: a) a grizzled patriarch who collapses when b) one of his sons is arrested for killing a cop, and c) whose granddaughter becomes an activist working against corruption and greed, bringing the FBI down on her. The whole shebang ends with an anthem titled “Be the Rain,” which encourages viewers to go out and make a difference--but long before then most viewers will have hit the eject button on their DVD players. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)